U.S. diplomat urges Azerbaijan, Armenia to support people-to-people programs

Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from the U.S. James Warlick called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to support people-to-people diplomacy for strengthening of tolerance and trust. The U.S. co-chairman wrote on his Twitter page commenting on the Sumgait events.

"We also remember Sumgait. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan should support people-to-people programs to develop tolerance and trust," he wrote.

Some 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis six killed during the 1988 Sumgait events, according to the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan. Armenian Markarian, who was driving a bus, intentionally ran over four Azerbaijanis and they died as a result. However, law enforcement agencies of the USSR covered up this incident, the First Deputy Prosecutor General Rustam Usubov said at the event marking the 26th anniversary of these events.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.